


English 110

by GrimRevolution



Series: Muscle Mass [8]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: College, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-05 08:38:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1812139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimRevolution/pseuds/GrimRevolution
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You should learn something new every day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. HIS 113: Europe Since 1945

Chapter One

HIS 113: Europe Since 1945

* * *

 

“I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.” 

Virginia Woolf

* * *

 

Steve didn’t feel _too_ out of place (granted, Natasha kept telling him that he looked younger than he actually was so that was nice) with his laptop bag and a binder filled with paper. He just had to keep reminding himself that this wasn’t going to be an art class and since he was going to learn history he might as well do it as a responsible adult instead of looking up whatever comes out of Tony and Clint’s mouths up on Wikipedia.

He didn’t choose the back of the room, but he didn’t choose the front either; settling for someplace in between, close to the window. There were only a few more students scattered around so the soldier pulled out the pocket-sized sketchbook Natasha had given him (in wrapping paper covered with spiders. Who even _makes_ wrapping paper covered in spiders?). She told him to use it when he was bored.

This wasn’t boredom, really. If Steve was bored his heart wouldn’t be hammering, his feet wouldn’t tap on the floor—and why did he feel like it was five years ago and he was standing up in front of an audience in tights for the first time?

The captain sighed and rubbed at his forehead. Everyone was nervous for their first day of school, right? This wasn’t anything new. Hell, he could take down Nazis as much as he wanted but Professors? Teachers? They held your future in their hands. _They_ were terrifying. If a Nazi shouted at him he could just shoot ‘em.

Or shout back. That happened sometimes when they had ran out of ammo on both sides. German and English and God knows what else (like what the Canadians spoke. He thought it was French, but looking back he’s pretty sure it was some bastard child between English and French).

“Nice shirt.”

Steve just about jumped a foot in the air and turned to the woman grinning at him. She had skin the colour of an Olympic bronze medal and hair that looked like it puffed up and away from head like a miniaturized explosion of curls. Tony had called it something... an afro? Realizing what she had said, the Captain looked down at his black t-shirt with a red Black Widow emblem on it.

Yeah, that was Natasha’s gift, too (he just came back one day and it was in his closet so, yeah, he just kind of went with it).  “Thanks,” Steve grinned and laughed at the red, white, and blue of her own shirt. “I like yours, too.”

Already in class for five minutes and he runs into somebody wearing his shield on their clothing.

“He’s pretty cool, you know?” She said, sitting down beside him and dropping her heavy bag with a grunt. “I’m Arianna.”

“Steve,” he grinned and shook her hand. “So, history?”

Arianna laughed and her gold hooped earrings flashed when the light caught them. “Can’t help myself, it’s a filthy obsession,” she leaned back in her seat and propped her feet up on the chair in front of her. “You?”

“I didn’t have the best teacher,” he said honestly because, yeah, SHIELD had been awful. There’s only so much documentaries you can watch before the desire to toss the television out the window became unbearable. “So I decided to do a little catching up.”

“Yeah?” She twirled a pencil between her fingers. “Well, what do you wanna know?”

“What is there to know?” Steve shot back and grinned as she laughed again.

“What I mean is, are you interested in Europe, Asia, Africa?”

Steve hummed and looked out of the window, gathering his thoughts. “All of it, I suppose. Though I figured that Europe and America would be the first stepping stone.”

Nodding, Arianna ripped out a page of her notebook and used the pen in her hand—oh, Lord, it was _purple._ Steve didn’t even know that they made pens in that colour. Wow, he had a feeling that he would be dragging Clint out that night to go find some multicoloured pens—to write down something before handing it over. “That’s Professor Lambs’ information. She teaches North African history. I took one of her classes last year and was _blown_ away.” Her arms went outward, mimicking the _blown away_ part.

“Thanks,” Steve folded up the paper and stuffed it into his sketchbook (another habit he’d never fully gotten rid of) just as the professor walked into the classroom.

While he and Arianna had been talking, the seats had gradually been filled up until there were only one or two left empty.

Class passed with Steve taking notes with his, quite frankly, boring blue pen (he did not glare jealously at the purple ink, no he did not) as the Professor told them about how the class would go before jumping straight into the lecture.

It ended faster than he expected, the projector turning off and Steve blinking a few times before reaching to gather up his things.

“If you don’t have any more classes today I can go introduce you to Professor Lamb now,” Arianna was placing her purple pen into the purple pencil bag which was slid into her purple backpack and Steve, just on instinct alone, knew that she and Clint would get along _famously_. “Most of the them—the history department, I mean—gather in the lounge during lunch. For students who have questions and stuff. We’ll probably be the only ones there seeing that it _is_ the first day.”

“Yeah,” Steve grinned a bit, hoisting his messenger bag over his shoulder. “I’d like—” His phone buzzed and, smiling sheepishly, he pulled it from his pocket and looked at the screen.

There was a picture of a stack of moving boxes and Clint Barton laying across them with a pen in his teeth, eyebrows raised seductively as Liho, the skinny black cat, walked down his hip. The caption underneath it read ‘ _save me from this lunacy_ ’, and Steve sighed and smiled apologetically at Arianna. “I’m sorry, my roommate’s moving in today.”

She winced apologetically and laughed. “That’s fine, we can always meet the professor tomorrow.” Thanking her, Steve made his way out of the classroom and fought the urge to run across campus because Natasha hadn’t told him she was moving in _today_.

And the fact that Clint and Natasha were alone in his apartment was, well, just a tiny bit worrying but he arrived and the entire place hadn’t been burned to the ground so that had to mean something right?

Or... maybe not. There was a dog sitting in his living room, Liho walking stiff legged around it, sniffing at the gold-brown fur. It looked like a mix between a golden retriever and something else; floppy ears, wagging tail, and large paws.

Missing an eye.

“Did you bring home a dog?” Steve asked Natasha who was going through one of the boxes.

“He belongs to Clint,” the redhead pulled out a pile of towels and washcloths and walked to the guest bedroom—now hers, pretty much.

The archer poked his head out of the doorway. “His name’s Lucky the Pizzadog!” Pausing, he looked over the captain’s clothing. “Nice shirt.”

Steve raised an eyebrow—choosing to ignore that last comment—and looked down at the canine. The canine looked back up at him, tilted his head to the side, and whined. Sighing, the captain crouched down and scratched behind the floppy ears until the thin tail was whacking against his floor. Something tugged against his shirt and, looking over his shoulder, the artist saw a black tail flicking back and forth before a weight settled on his shoulder. Liho, purring, pressed his warm body against the side of the man’s neck.

Careful not to dislodge the cat, Steve opened up a box and pulled out the bed sheets and pillows. “I have these,” he told Natasha as they walked past each other. “You didn’t have to bring _all_ of them.”

“Maybe I wanted to?” She grinned back at him over his shoulder before her eyes landed on the cat draped on Steve like a warm, furry scarf. “You shouldn’t let him climb on you.”

“Maybe he likes to be tall?” the soldier shot back. “Didn’t you say that about Clint when he stood on the counter?”

The archer looked out of the bathroom and scowled. “I’m not _that_ short.”

“Yes you are!” Natasha shouted from the living room and Clint huffed before ducking back into her new bathroom. “And how was your first day of classes?”

“Made a friend,” the soldier said. “I’m also going to meet some more of the history professors tomorrow.”

The redhead picked up one box and handed it over to him, the sudden weight almost sending him tipping forward before he regained his balance. “That’s good. I’m glad you’re meeting normal people instead of picking up _more_ strays.”

 _Like you?_ He wanted to say before quickly amending that thought to; _Someone who owned that many purple things couldn’t really be described as normal_. Before he could say anything, though, the spy was already distracted by shifting through more of her things. Managing to get into the soldier’s hair, Liho batted at the blonde strands, his paws whacking the soldier’s ear and neck. During the time where they got most of Natasha’s things settled in, the cat never left his perch on the broad shoulder.

“You don’t have any cat things,” Steve realized, looking for a litter box, bowls, and toys.

“He’s not my cat!”

Sighing, the captain turned to look at Clint who was laying across the couch, Lucky sitting beside his head. “And I’m guessing that’s not your dog.”

“Nope!”

Steve pressed his palm against his face and grabbed his car keys. Fighting the urge to pull Natasha out of the apartment by the scruff of her shirt, he instead braced his palms against her shoulder blades, leading her towards the door. “ _We_ are going to a pet store and _you_ will be getting things for _your_ cat.”

On the sofa, the archer perked up.

“And,” Steve told him. “If _you_ come along, _you_ will be getting things for _your_ dog.”

“But he _likes_ pizza!” Clint whined and Lucky wagged his tail, barking.

Frowning at him, the soldier narrowed his eyes. “Clint Barton you will get that _dog_ normal _dog food_.”

The archer got up off the sofa, grumbling and slinking out the door before Steve, following the steps of Natasha down the stairs and to the car. Turning around, the blonde looked back at the one-eyed dog sitting in the middle of the living room. “And what are _you_ waiting for?”

Bounding up, tail wagging, Lucky shot out of the door, barking excitedly. Sighing, Steve locked his door and reached up to scratch Liho behind his pointed ears. But he reached the garage where his car waited and saw Natasha leaning against the side, smiling softly at the archer and his dog. Clint had turned the animal over on his back and was cooing and rubbing his stomach, suffering wet kisses and happy yips.

Okay, so having a few strays around wasn’t _so_ bad.


	2. AST 120: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” 

_Cosmos_

Caral Sagan

* * *

 

Steve, shirt off and sweatpants tied securely around his hips, braced his hands against the wooden floor of his apartment. A textbook laid out in front of him as he did each push up, only pausing to turn the page one handed. Him doing push-ups on the floor wasn’t the odd part—in fact, it was fairly normal at six in the morning.

The strange part was Natasha Romanoff sitting cross legged on his back, dressed in yoga pants and a tank top, reading a book of her own. She was almost done with it, bright red bookmark sitting behind her ear, the last few pages folded around the back of the novel. She licked her thumb as Steve went down, turned page when he went up.

When she finished, Natasha closed the book and tossed it onto the couch. Her body bent in half as she leaned over him, forearms resting across his shoulders as she looked past his head to the book he was reading. “What class is that for?”

“Stars, galaxies, and cosmology,” Steve paused, bracing his palm against the ground so he could turn the page. “We’re actually talking about the sun before moving outward to each planet.”

Humming in agreement, the redhead smirked. “Can _you_ name all the planets?”

He huffed. “Sure, Mercury, Venus—”

Natasha smiled in a way where her lips curled up at the corners, her eyes narrowed, glinting in the soft, early morning light. It was not a nice smile. Not a nice smile at _all_.  

“Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus—”

Keeping her body lax so he couldn’t feel her tense un in anticipation, the redhead closed her eyes and got ready for that _one_ word...

“Neptune, and Pluto.”

She almost punched the air in victory and stopped herself at the last second. “Well,” Natasha drawled, looking like a cat that had not only _caught_ the canary, but ate it’s best friend, too, “You’re _almost_ right.”

Steve’s head perked up and somehow continued his push-ups without pause. “Oh? Did they find a new planet?”

“Not... exactly,” the redhead snickered. “Pluto’s not considered a planet anymore.”

“ _What?_ ” Steve faltered and Natasha was just about thrown off his back. “Not considered a— _why?_ ”

He looked horrified and the redhead slid off his back, laying across the ground, laughing with her arms wrapped around her middle. “Your _face_ —”

“How can it _not_ be a planet! It was discovered when I was in school! Newspapers across the world announced it!” Steve sat down on his butt. “‘ _Not a planet_ ,’ that’s such crap! You’re lying,” one finger hovered above her nose. “You’re just messing with me.”

“Not messing,” Covering her mouth with a hand, Natasha watched him scramble for his computer. “It happened a few years ago. There’s even a movement on the internet to get it reinstated.”

Steve made a noise similar to a dying animal, sitting down at his kitchen table and staring at the horrible, horrible truth. For a long second, Natasha watched him and it was only her training that kept her from jumping when he lunged for his phone. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t believe this,” the captain was muttering, punching in the numbers with the tip of his finger, gripping the plastic as if he was going to crush it. “I can’t _believe_  the _nerve_ —” He put the phone up to his ear and glared at her from the other side of the room, his left foot tapping impatiently on the ground.

_“This is Jane Fosters’ phone, Darcy Lewis the two year intern speaking.”_

“Good morning, Miss Lewis,” Steve forced the cheer into his voice. “This is Steve, I was wondering if Miss Foster was around?”

There was a second long pause. _“She’s currently waving at me that no, she doesn’t want to speak with anyone but because you’re Captain America I’m sure she’ll reconsider.”_ And there was that crackle sound of someone passing off the phone to someone else, a few thuds, and a tired sigh before;

_“Jane Foster speaking.”_

“Good morning, Miss Foster,” He said, and, if Natasha had been on the other side of that phone, she would have been fooled by the calmness in his tone, but since she wasn’t and saw the cool set of his eyes, the redhead leaned forward, palms braced against the couch as Liho walked into the room. “How are you this morning?”

There was a slight pause on the other end. _“I’m doing well, Captain,”_ Jane said, but there was a slight hesitance in her tone, as if she had witnessed their conversation first hand. _“What can I do for you?”_

Natasha started snickering and Liho jumped onto the table with a meow that sounded more like a lion’s roar.

“I was just wondering if you could tell me the name of the scientist who decided that Pluto wasn’t a planet anymore.”

The phone crackled and there was silence on  the other end. _“Oh no,_ ” Jane groaned. _“You’re one of **those**.”_

Steve raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know what _that_ means, but I went into the ice and Pluto had just been discovered. I come out of it and it’s not a planet anymore?”

Jane Foster’s hum was like that of a teacher’s—not one ready to lay down the law, but rather one who was sitting in front of a student and about to talk about her favourite subject. _“In 1931, as I’m sure you know,”_ she started, _“Pluto was thought to be roughly around the size of Earth. In 1948, after the war, it was calculated even lower and was believed to be around the size of mars.”_

“Why so much discrepancy?”

 _“It was mostly because of the technology at the time,”_ Jane said and Natasha came forward as Steve set the phone down on the table, sitting next to him in order to listen to the Astrophysicist talk. _“Scientist didn’t have the right equipment to calculate the mass of a planet that far away.”_

Steve rested his elbows on the table. “So, it’s not a planet anymore because of its size?”

 _“Not exactly,”_ there was some shuffling on the other end—a sound that was almost like a breakfast bowl being replaced by papers. _“That was one of the main factors leading up to the idea that it might not be a planet. In order for an object to be considered by the scientific community to be a planet it must a) travel around the sun, b) must be massive enough to have its own gravitational force, and c) it must have cleared the area around its orbit.”_

Liho mewled and Natasha scooped him up around his stomach and set the black feline in her lap.  “‘Cleared the area?’” she asked and they could hear Jane jump on the other side.

 _“Uh,”_ the scientist murmured. _“It’s technically called ‘clearing the neighbourhood’. Basically, during the formation of a planet, they cannot have something in equal or greater mass in their surrounding ‘neighbourhood’. They have to be the gravitational dominate.”_

Steve frowned. “Like the Earth and the moon.”

 _“Yes! Or Saturn and all of its moons. Pluto’s mass is only .07 more than that of other objects in its orbit, so, therefore, it’s now not classified as a planet.”_ They could hear the smile in her voice. _“However, much of the scientific community agrees with you on how that is a big fat load of crap. We all want Pluto to become a planet again.”_

Laughing, the Captain reached over to scratch Liho’s pointed ears. “Well, thank you for clearing that up, Miss Foster.”

 _“Of course!”_ There was a rumbling on the other end—the sound of a Thunder God speaking and Jane responding back. _“Thor’s telling me that you’re taking some astronomy classes at the college?”_

Steve’s cheeks turned a light pink. “Stars, galaxies, and cosmology,” he said. “It sounded fascinating, and it’s definitely interesting to see how the Universe had expanded since the last time I was in school.”

Jane laughed. _“Science is going forward in leaps and bounds,”_ she agreed. _“Thor and I were going to go to the observatory tonight, maybe you’d like to come?”_

 _“I wouldn’t want to intrude—”_ because _that_ outing sounded too much like a date and he knew that the time between the scientist and the alien was precious to them both.

 _“No need,”_ she responded back and there was a deep laugh from Thor. _“We do it every Thursday—I tell him about Earth science and he talks about Asgard.”_

There was another great laugh from the Thunder God. _“It’s fine!”_ The Asgardian said, his loud voice booming through the speaker and startling Liho. _“You will not be intruding, my friend! It is a great past time of ours to discuss the differences in cultures and beliefs.”_

Jane promised to text him the address before hanging up and Steve kitchen was full of silence.

“You made me name off the planets just so that I would freak out about Pluto, didn’t you?” The captain turned to Natasha, eyes narrowed, placing his phone back on the counter.

She gave him a smile that was too innocent for comfort. “And now you’re going out with friends! How _marvellous_!” The redhead managed to dodge his hands, scrambling over the couch as he gave chase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always pictured Natasha and Steve doing roommate things like how my roommate and I do roommate things; meaning we're two shitheads to each other.  
> Good news everyone! Pluto might be reinstated as a planet. Rejoice.

**Author's Note:**

> Two in just as many days? Must be a miracle.  
> Steve going to school has always been entertaining to me, especially balancing out work with classes. He also is around a bunch of people who are geniuses in their fields so, this should be fun.  
> It'll be a mixture of classic "College is kicking my ass" and "Bruce, can you explain molecular DNA in words I can understand?" with the addition of Natasha moving in.  
> This story will be updated whenever I feel like it so... could be tomorrow, could be two weeks from now. I'll write chapters when I have an idea or get the time.


End file.
